WazirX Hacker Converts Majority of Stolen Assets into Ether, Holds Over 59K ETH

Highlights:

• WazirX hacker acquired an additional 43,799 ETH by liquidating PEPE, SHIB, and MATIC.
• Recent conversions have increased the exploiter’s Ethereum holdings to $201M from $52M.
• The hacker still holds about $15M in various altcoins, including Dent and Chromia.

According to blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain, the exploiter of the $235 million worth of crypto from India’s WazirX exchange has converted the majority of stolen altcoins into 43,799 ETH, worth $149 million. This move likely aims to prevent the funds from being frozen. 

Between July 18 and 19, funds converted to Ether included $90.2 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB), $7.5 million in Pepe (PEPE), and $10.2 million in Polygon (MATIC). Following recent swaps, the total Ethereum holdings of the WazirX exploiter have surged to 59,097 ETH, valued at $201 million. This marks a significant increase from the initial $52 million in ETH directly stolen from the exchange. This development coincides with the expected launch of the US spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in just four days.

🔴 The total $ETH holding of #WazirX exploiter has risen to 59,097 $ETH ($201M)!

Among these tokens:
➡️ 15,298 $ETH ($52M) was stolen directly from the exchange;
➡️ 43,799 $ETH ($149M) was acquired by dumping various assets, notably 5.43T $SHIB ($90.2M), 20.5M $MATIC ($10.2M),… https://t.co/v1sGzL6m7r pic.twitter.com/x23kGBsqyd

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) July 19, 2024

WazirX Hacker Still Holds $15M in Different Coins

According to the Spot On Chain, the exploiter still holds approximately $12-15 million worth of other altcoins, including Dent (DENT), Chromia (CHR), Celer Network (CELR), and Frontier tokens (FRONT). Lookonchain also observed an unusual transaction involving the deposit of 7.7 million Dent tokens, valued at $7,300, to an unused Binance deposit address.

The Indian crypto exchange faced a $235 million breach on July 18, targeting its multisig wallet on the Ethereum network. More than 200 crypto assets, including Polygon, Shiba Inu, Ethereum, and PePe memecoin, were stolen. WazirX has paused all withdrawals, acknowledging the breach and calling it a ‘force majeure event’ beyond their control. Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that on-chain data indicates the exploit was carried out by hackers linked to North Korea.

WazirX stated:

“This is a force majeure event beyond our control, but we are leaving no stone unturned to locate and recover the funds. We have already blocked a few deposits and reached out to concerned wallets for recovery.”

Ethereum Price Remains Stable After Hack Amid ETF Launch Excitement

It appears the WazirX hacker is betting on an Ethereum price rally with the spot Ether ETFs launching next week. While other altcoins experienced significant corrections after the exploit, Ethereum has remained stable, trading around $3,414. In contrast, Shiba Inu fell over 8% on Thursday due to massive selling by the hacker.

Ethereum investors are excited about the spot Ethereum ETF approval next week.  ETH has surged 10% to $3,500 recently, with analysts predicting it could reach $4,000 and beyond after the ETF launch. The technical chart for Ethereum looks bullish. Analyst Income Sharks suggests ETH might see a minor pullback to test the trendline before continuing a strong uptrend.

$ETH – Looking good. That could have been it for the pullback or we could still go lower and that'd still be bullish. Finally have the double supertrends flipped bullish and OBV is close to giving the official send off signal. pic.twitter.com/Nnekh4TKVP

— IncomeSharks (@IncomeSharks) July 18, 2024